Notte Bianca

This is the festival of White Night, which celebrates all thing cultural in Malta. The streets and buildings of Valetta are lit up and the city hosts a huge range of cultural events.

We bussed to Slimea and joined the massive queue for the ferry. We were amongst the first to board the second boat so got a good seat on the top, outside deck from where we saw the firework display. It was spectacularly underwhelming as it was still broad daylight... It took forever to load the ferry as the queue was massive and we suspected it was quite overloaded. No matter, we arrived safely and Valetta looked lovely in the evening sun.

Our first ports of call were to visit the church with the dome and the next door cathedral with the spire which dominate Malta's skyline. The former being a Catholic church and the later being St Paul's Pro Cathedral, which is a totally different simpler style than all the other churches we've visited here. The Pro part of the name means it is a cathedral which it's not supported by its own bishop.

We wander through the streets which are gradually being lit up as it darkens and are gradually filling up as 7pm, kickoff, approaches. We find the acclaimed Nenu for dinner but they won't take a reservation so we chance waiting for the huge bell ringing citywide at 7pm which announces the start of the festival. A few minutes past we give up and return to the restaurant where, luckily, a final table for two still remains. The maitre d' shrugs her shoulders when we tell her about the bells and simply says "Maltese time". We have the Maltese speciality, beef olives which is herby minced pork wrapped in a slice of beef which is braised in tomato sauce and chicken ftira, which is the Maltese version of pizza. And John finally discovers the Maltese wine, Laurenti, that he has been on the lookout for.

Then we hit the streets. It is packed. Valetta is expecting to host something like 60 000 revellers tonight.Read more